7.

Five moons later...

Lazar stared out toward the hills and the desert that he knew lay beyond. "Ironic," he commented to Pez. "Seventeen moons ago I was looking longingly toward the Stone Palace, desperate to be here. Now I gaze out from it with equal longing to be gone."

"You are over the worst, are you not?"

The Spur nodded wearily. "Well enough. I must make ready to leave."

"Boaz can't wait to see you on your way."

"This time I go with no one in tow. Just us." He swung around to face the dwarf. "I wish you had made that trip once more so we can be sure."

"But I'm not sure I could survive it, my friend. It was a perilous journey last time. If I took the chance and succumbed to the heat, to loss of direction, to any one of the many hawks that want me for a meal, we would lose our only chance of finding Ana. No, we do it once and we bring her home. We know she is being cared for, I'm sure of it, so this wait has been wise. In fact, I've had this niggling feeling that all of this somehow has to do with the rising of the Goddess."

"I thought we'd cleared that up," Lazar replied wearily. "Ana is no such thing."

"I shall believe what I wish. You are welcome to your own theory. The Goddess is rising, Lazar, I feel it even if I don't understand it."

"What about Maliz?" Lazar murmured.

"I've been clever at staying out of his way. The Grand Vizier is busy with Boaz and from what I can glean seems more concerned with setting up an escape route for the Zar, Valide, and harem."

"What's his plan? He should consult me."

"As far as I know, it's the eastern foothills. I overheard the Grand Vizier telling Boaz that he knows them well." Lazar smirked. "Yes, my thoughts exactly. Tariq wouldn't know what any foothills look like. But Boaz's mind is too filled with responsibility and private mourning over Ana to take note that his Grand Vizier is suddenly so knowledgeable."

"Boaz has visited me often these past moons and from what I can tell he has no intention of leaving the city."

"The Grand Vizier is relentless in pushing for him to abandon the palace and its seraglio. That said, he isn't planning for the Zar to be anywhere near the harem women in their escape. Only the Valide would be permitted to accompany Boaz. As for Salmeo, I don't think Tariq cares what happens to him."

"What's his motivation, do you think?"

Pez shrugged. "He claims he is preserving the palace hierarchy, or so he assures the Zar."

"It's a lie, of course."

"The curious part is, Lazar, I do think he cares about Boazwell, care, that's an odd word, I know. But there's certainly an element of desiring the Zar's survival."

"That's madness, though. What happens to Percheron is irrelevant to Maliz. His interest lies only in the destruction of Lyana, whenever she turns up. He's simply biding his time. All of this mortal angst with war is purely sport for him, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes. I can't explain his concern...not yet."

"And speaking of explanations...Have you thought of an idea to explain your absence when we go?"

"No, but now that I know that we are on the brink of departure, I shall dream up something. Boaz is preoccupied with war anyway. He is not going to miss me. He will miss you, though."

"The Zar wants his Zaradine and heir back. I have given Ghassal instructions. He is a good soldierthe best; he knows what to do, how to set up the Protectorate for maximum security. Have we heard anything?"

"Nothing. You would be one of the first to learn anyway. Boaz defers to you as Spur despite your illness."

Lazar sighed. "He treated me very coolly when we first returned, but he's warmed. I don't doubt his mother's determination to see me fit has helped in that regard."

"It's about Ana, Lazar. It's always been about Ana."

"She is his wife. I cannot stand in the way of that."

"Not in the palace, perhaps," Pez commented, giving a soft shrug of apology. "Don't pretend you didn't know I was part of the guile. She told me she just needed some time with you that night. I was her cohort."

The Spur blushed in a rare show of emotion. Pez pretended not to notice. "We needed to talk. There was so much left unsaid between us, not" Lazar stammered.

"You don't have to"

"Not just around the time of her marriage," Lazar continued as though Pez had not spoken, "but long before that. There were things I needed to say to Ana that were overdue from the first wretched evening I brought her into Percheron." He banged his fist on the balcony rail with frustration.

"You don't need to justify that time with Ana to me, Lazar," Pez said softly.

"I do. You were her accomplice and took a risk for us. I never thought I'd have the chance to say any of the things I did to her on that sand dune. She contrived the meetingI would never have daredbut I am ever grateful for the opportunity...to talk." He cleared his throat and sent a prayer to anyone listening that Pez would never know what had actually occurred.

"It's odd, you know, that night...before our lives were changed."

"What's odd?"

"I was sickening for something. I don't know what it was about. One moment I was fine, the next I was vomiting into the sand as Ana came away from you on the dune."

"You were there?" Lazar heard his voice break slightly on the last word.

"I was awake. Just looking out for her. I had to in case anyone discovered she was not in her tent." Lazar nodded. "But I was not the only one awake, I've just realized."

Lazar's eyes flared with shock. "What do you mean?"

Pez looked stunned. "Forgive me. I've just recalled that the Grand Vizier stepped out of his tent as she came back to the camp."

"What?"

"It wasn't important. I think he was probably emerging to relieve himself, stretch, I don't know, and her presence perhaps startled him. They spoke briefly and Ana was smiling, the Vizier scratching. A coincidence, and in the scheme of what unfolded that night, inconsequential."

"What happened?"

"Well, he said he was disturbed. He mentioned this to Ana, and to her credit, she didn't miss a beat, told him she'd tripped over one of his tent ropes or something."

"And he accepted it?"

"What else could he do? She told him she'd just stepped away from the camp to relieve herself. It was a well-crafted and well-executed lie. She didn't sound abashed, just apologetic for disturbing him."

"Well, good. She didn't arouse any further mystery, then?"

"No, but that's my point, I'm embarrassed to say and only now recall. She never did."

"I don't get you."

"Well, it didn't strike me at the time, but now that I'm thinking about it, I know that Ana arrived soundlessly. She made no noise. My hearing is exceptional, and I knew she was back in camp because I could sense her, not because I could see her or hear her."

"Am I being a dullard in not understanding what you're saying?"

"I'm saying that no noise disturbed the Grand Vizier and still he was woken from his deep sleep. I know he was sound asleep because I checked on him." Lazar stared at the dwarf with incomprehension. Pez continued thinking aloud. "I don't know what dragged him from his slumber but something did. Lyana!"

"What now?" Lazar asked, alarmed that Pez had paled suddenly.

"Perhaps his disturbance was more than coincidence, for just moments earlier I had vomited for no good reason and Ana had just stepped silently back into the camp."

"Ah, I get it. You're on your Lyana pedestal again. That was one of the things we spoke of that night, Pez. Ana admits that she is not who you think she is. She feels saddened for you that you pursue this dream. And why would Lyana announce anything to Maliz anyway?"

"Lyana, Iridor, Maliz. We are all helplessly connected. We do not necessarily choose to communicate but our lives our irrevocably bound. Something disturbed Maliz and Iridor when Ana was presentalbeit silent." Pez suddenly fell on all fours and began barking.

Lazar deliberately turned away, striking a bored pose as he leaned over the balcony. He heard the click of a heel and the smell of perfume reached him before she did.

"We'll talk on this later," Lazar whispered to Pez. The dwarf reared up on his legs and began beating his chest as the Valide swept onto the verandah.

"Good morning, Lazar. You have lots of color in your face today."

"I feel the brightest I've felt in a while. It must be your fine care, Valide."

She demured with a soft shrug and a smile behind her veil. "Oh, begone with you, dwarf! Your noise is enough to set anyone's health back." She called behind her to an Elim who had followed her into Lazar's chamber. "Please take Pez away. I wish a private conversation with the Spur."

The man nodded and urged Pez to follow. The dwarf meekly took the man's hand, ambling at his side as the monkeys did with their handlers in the Zar's zoo. He left quietly but not before loudly wiping his nose on the corner of the Valide's silken shift.

She shrieked, scowled at the Spur's helpless amusement. "Why does he entertain you and Boaz with such vulgarity?"

"It's not him, it's you, Valide. You give him so much fun to work with. In his addled mind he still seems to sense that he can provoke a loud reaction from you every time. You must learn to ignore him as we all do, then he'll likely leave you alone."

"Why you tolerate him around you is beyond me. Has he been barking like that for long? It must set your nerves on edge."

"No. I hardly notice him. A lot of the time he sits quietly and picks his nose."

She made an involuntary sound of disgust before she noticeably softened. "Are you cold? Let me fetch you a blanket."

Lazar sat down. It was obvious this would be no fleeting visit and he dared not be rude after all her care. "Herezah, you don't need to wait on me like this," Lazar called over his shoulder, although he was grateful for the warmth when the soft rug was placed around him.

Herezah had come to Lazar's quarters this morning with a mission in mind. She had deliberately distracted the Elim with Pez and then left a message for that same Elim to run some errands for her. She was counting on him being kept busy for a whilelong enough for her needs. She was also gambling with the notion that the more senior Elim would not realize that the single day and single night guard they maintained around the Spur were compromised. The guards were token, simply a show of respect toward the harem. The Elim trusted the Spur implicitly but it was a matter of principle, a man living relatively near to where the women were housed warranted the show of a guard. Herezah had earned the Elim's respect these few moons, always seeing to it that the Elim were informed when she was visiting the Spur's quarters, diligently ensuring that she was never without her escort. She neither removed her veil in the Spur's companyeven when he was too far gone in his fevers and hallucinations to be aware of anyone around himnor touched him below his neck. Instead she supervised the Elim in this regard. Trust had been earned and she intended to take full advantage of her weeks of patience.

She leaned against the railings, her back to the Faranel and her sheer, rather revealing costume for today ensuring that the full glory of her still-firm, voluptuous body was showcased for her guest. "But I enjoy looking after you," she admonished in a lazy voice. "I'd be lying if I said I'd been happier in my life than these past five moons in caring for you."

"Please don't say that aloud to anyone else. Don't even say it to me again, I beg you."

"But why, Lazar? Why not to you?" She made her move, crouching near his side now, careful not to crowd him but close enough to place her hand over his. "Surely you cannot deny that I have always been honest with you about my feelings."

He shook his head. "It is unwise"

"Why? You are well nowor much fitter than a few moons back, when I swear to Zarab I thought we'd lost you. But"

Lazar surprised her by covering her hand with his own and she helplessly shivered at his touch. "And I haven't thanked you for that. You saved my life but"

"You saved mine in the desert."

"That was my duty. Helping me back to good health has surely been unpleasant and you didn't have to do it."

"No, but I'm glad I have. And yes, you do have to thank me, but do so properly. I don't want your carefully chosen words, Lazar. I want you. Don't look at me like that! I've never hidden my desire, and although we've often felt like enemies, for my part it was a result of frustration over how you ignore me." She put her hand to his lips. "No, wait, let me finish. Every man has a sexual drive," she urged, "every woman, too," she added ruefully. "I am not bound by who I might take as a lover anymoreand you have no one in your life. I know I'm desirable to any man. If you didn't have such a strong opinion about me, you would feel the same yearning. Why pay for a whore who has been with a dozen men before you that day alone when you can have me, untouched for so long, and at no charge? Why not satisfy us both? I will accept your thanks only once if that is all that's offered. I promise, there will be no repercussions."

"Herezah," he began, but again she stopped him.

"I want nothing from you, Lazar, except your body riding mine. I'm not naive enough to think you might suddenly fall in love with me. This is about lust and relief, nothing more. I have never been with any man but the Zar and he was not out of choicecan you imagine what that's like? I know you pay women, Lazarnot that you'd need to but I imagine it's cleaner that way, no messy relationships attached; you choose with whom and when and where. An odalisque, a Zaradine, has no such choice. We are no better than whores but with none of their freedom. I will not lie to you; although I liked and respected Joreb, he disgusted me physically. What I did for him sexually I did out of duty. He gave me Boaz and I cannot regret that, but I am in my fourth decade, Lazar, and I might as well shrivel up and die soon if I don't get some satisfaction for this magnificent body and its desires." Her words had come out in such a torrent, and with such feeling, that she was breathing hard by the end of her monologue.

She knew Lazar could see the perfect shape of her breasts, her dark nipples chafing at the gauze of her near-translucent linen chemise. If not for its loose cut, her body would have been naked to him. But she'd taken the added precaution of unfastening the front so Lazar could clearly view the rounded flesh, the inviting cleavage, the pulse at her throat. She was sure that at this close proximity to such an invitation any man would be victim to his own body's betrayal, including the man of ice himself. And she was right. Herezah watched with untold delight the unmistakable swell beneath Lazar's loose garments. She thrilled to the knowledge that she had finally won a response from himand best of all, Lazar was well enough to be seduced and she was close enough to take advantage of him.

This was the greatest risk she had taken since becoming Valide. The killing of the heirs, the persecution of Ana, the cunning and deception of so many years in the harem; all of it amounted to naught in comparison to this moment when Herezah, Valide Zara of Percheron, bared herself to the one person who could break the heart she had protected for nearly two decades. She moved her hand and placed it on that swell of his body, felt the answering throb beneath her fingertips, and could have wept.

Instead she pressed her luck still further. "Even the Elim have left us alone. We are free to make our own choice. No one owns us, Lazar...and what's more, no one cares." Her voice was husky, sensual, and when he couldn't react negatively to her touch, she took a further chance. "Thank me, Lazar, in the only way I'll accept."

Herezah bent her head and placed her lips against his. She began tentatively, exploring his mouth gently. She tasted his reluctance; his lips were politely soft but unresponsive. But she was not to be deterred. She risked everything, gently squeezing the hand that was still nestled quietly in his lap. And won the response she'd dreamed ofHerezah felt the instant response in her palm and it was suddenly mirrored by the hungry yearning from his mouth. She knew any woman could probably achieve a similar reactioncouldn't convince herself otherwisebut nevertheless she felt breathless at the knowledge that Lazar was finally beneath her. Determined not to shatter this fragile moment, she began working her fingers, working her tongue.

Lazar groaned and Herezah celebrated inwardly.

At last he was hers.

Although they had been preparing for this moment, Boaz's expression was still one of undisguised shock.

"Anchored off the Isles of Plenty?" he repeated.

Ghassal, the Spur's deputy, bowed. "Yes, Majesty. We count more than thirty war galleys, more still arriving. One flies the royal pennon of Galinsea."

"Falza is here?" Boaz asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"We do not know, Majesty. It could be one of the sons, but either way, Galinsean royalty is near to our waters. The Grand Vizier has given orders that I am personally to fetch you."

"We're to make arrangements to meet with the royal, is that the plan?"

"I am to take you on the barge."

"Barge?" Boaz frowned.

"We go by river upstream, he says. A team of Elim will accompany you and"

"Ghassal!"

"Majesty," the man said, suddenly kneeling, arrested by the tone in his ruler's voice.